This invention relates to novel FT-0554 substance useful for treatment for infection of parasite, especially helminth, and its production.
Parasitosis is reducing as a result of improvement in sanitary conditions and progress of anthelmintics. Recently, however, the import parasitosis, zoonotic parasitosis, opportunistic parasitosis and parasitosis originated from perishable foods are prevailing and become crucial problems. Further the parasitosis produces large economical burdens in the stock-farming and agriculture. For infection of helminth in the parasite, at present, avermectins, mebendazole, praziquantel, and others are used for treatment of helminth.
Anthelmintics used at present, such as avermectins, mebendazole and praziqbantel, are not always sufficient for satisfactory in usefulness and toxicity, and the anthelmintics, which can solve these problems, are strongly, required.
Consequently, the present invention provides novel FT-0554 substance, which can satisfy the above requirements, and its production.
We have studided NADH-fumarate reductase, which was one of the promising targets against anthelmintics, in the electron transport system of the helminth, and explored for screening in the microbial culture. We have found that novel FT-0554 substance had NADH-fumarate reductase inhibitory activity, and completed the present invention according to this acknowledge.
An object of the present invention is to provide FT-0554 substance shown by the compound of the formula [I]
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for production of FT-0554 substance of formula [I]
which comprises culturing a microorganism belonging to fungus having FT-0554 substance producing activity, accumulating FT-0554 substance in the cultured medium and isolating FT-0554 substance from the cultured medium.
Further object of the present invention is to provide a microorganism belonging to fungi and having FT-0554 substance producing activity of the above process being Aspergillus niger FT-0554. Still further object of the present invention is to provide a microorganism belonging to fungi and having FT-0554 substance producing activity being Aspergillus niger FT-0554.
FT-0554 substance producing microorganism is the fungi having FT-0554 substance producing activity and is not limited. Preferable example of a microorganism used for production of FT-0554 is a fungus strain FT-0554 isolated from a newly collected sponge by the inventors of the present invention.
Taxonomical properties of the microorganism are illustrated as follows.
Taxonomical properties of a strain FT-0554.
(1) Cultured Properties on Various Media
Results of macroscopic observation of the strain of the present microorganism cultured at 25xc2x0 C. for 7 days are shown in Table 1.
(2) Morphological Properties
The microorganism of the present invention shows good growth on Czapek-yeast extract agar medium which contains seawater 50% (salt content 3.4%), malt extract agar medium, Czapek-yeast extract agar medium which contains sucrose 20% and potato-glucose agar medium, with abundance of conidia.
Microscopical observation of colonies grown on Czapek-yeast extract agar medium shows transparent hyphae with septa, straight grown conidiophore on the substrate mycelia with length 500 xcexcm-2.5 mm, and foot-cell in the basement. Tops of conidiophores are hypertrophic from spherical to subspherical with forming vesicles of diameter 35-60 xcexcm.
Plural aspergillae consist of metulae and phialides with the size of 8.4-11.4xc3x972.4-3.4 xcexcm and 5.4-8.6xc3x972.8-3.3 xcexcm, respectively. Whole of the vesicles is covered with metulae with forming conidial heads segmented from spherical to cylindrical. Conidia is globose with a size of diameter 3-4.5 xcexcm having smooth to rough surface.
(3) Physiological Properties
1) Optimum Growth Condition
Optimum growth condition of the present strain is pH 5-7, temperature 16-36xc2x0C. and seawater concentration 1) 50-100%. 1): salt concentration 3.4% natural seawater is used
2) Growth Condition
Growth range of the strain is pH 3-10, temperature 12-45xc2x0 C. and seawater concentration 2) 0-100%. 1: salt concentration 3.4% natural seawater is used
3) Nature
Aerobic
As shown in the above, culture condition, taxonomical properties and physiological properties of the present microorganism strain FT-0554 are compared with the known microorganism strains. The present strain is identified as belonging to Aspergillus niger and referred to Aspergillus niger FT-0554.
The present microorganism strain has deposited as Aspergillus niger FT-0554 FERM P-16399 in National Institute of Bioscience and Human-Technology, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Science and Technology, 1-3, Higashi 1xe2x80x94chome, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, Japan on Sep. 1, 1997. Further, the present microorganism strain was transferred to the microorganism deposition under Budapest Treaty in National Institute of Bioscience and Human-Technology, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Science and Technology, 1-3, Higashi 1-chome, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, Japan on Jul. 31, 1998, and was given deposition No. FERM BP-6443 from the International Deposition Authority.
Production of FT-0554 substance of the present invention can be performed by culturing microorganism belonging to fungi having producing activity of FT-0554 substance and isolating from the cultured mass and purifying the product. The microorganism strain used in the present invention can be the above microorganism strain, its variants and mutants, and all strains having FT-0554 substance producing activity belonging to fungi.
Nutritional sources for production of the above FT-0554 substance can be a nutritional source for fungi. Examples of nitrogen sources are commercially available peptone, meat extract, corn steep liquor, cottonseed powder, peanut powder, soybean flour, yeast extract, NZ-amine, casein hydrolyzate, sodium nitrate, ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate. Example of carbon sources are carbohydrate such as glycerin, starch, glucose, galactose and mannose, or carbon source such as fats and oil, and inorganic salts such as sodium chloride, phosphate, calcium carbonate and magnesium sulfate. These can be used with or combination thereof.
Trace metallic salt and animal, vegetable or mineral oil as anti-form agent can be added if necessary. These are substance, which can be assimilated by the producing strain and are useful for production of FT-0554 substance, can be used. All the known medium for culturing the fungus can be used. Mass production of FT-0554 substance can preferably be performed by a liquid culture. Culturing temperature can be applied within the range of growing the producing microorganism strain and producing FT-0554 substance. Culturing can be performed by selecting suitable conditions depending on the nature of FT-0554 substance producing strain.
FT-0554 substance can be extracted by water immiscible organic solvent such as chloroform and ethyl acetate from the culture liquid. In addition to the above extraction method, known isolation method used for lipophilic substance, for example adsorption chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, scratching from thin layer chromatography, centrifugal counter current chromatography, HPLC, and the like with or without combination thereof or repeated operation, can be applied to obtain purified substance.
Physico-chemical properties of FT-0554 substance of the present invention are shown as follows.
(1) Nature: white powder or amorphous
(2) Molecular weight: 361.2374 (M+H, high resolution fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy)
(3) Molecular formula C22H32O4 
(4) Specific rotation: [xcex1] D 25=+35.3xc2x0 (c=0.1, 1-propanol)
(5) UV absorption maximum (in 1-propanol): As shown in FIG. 1, maximum absorption at 205 nm (shoulder, xcex5=10800) and 231 nm (xcex5=21000).
(6) IR absorption maximum (KBr Tab): As shown in FIG. 2, maximum absorption at 3430, 2960, 2920, 2850, 1740, 1660, 1460, 1400, 1380, 1180, 1120 and 1000 cm xe2x88x921 
(7) 1H-NMR: chemical shift in deuterochloroform (ppm) and spin-spin coupling constant (Hz) in Table 2
(8) 13C NMR: chemical shift in deuterochloroform (ppm) in Table 2
Solubility in solvent : soluble in chloroform, ethanol, 1-propanol, toluene and ethyl acetate, insoluble in water and n-hexane
(10) Color reaction positive for sulfuric acid and iodine. Table 2
In Table 2, s: singlet, d: doublet, t: triplet, q: quartet, m: multiplet, H: number of proton, and J: spin-spin coupling constant (Hz).
As a result of detailed examination of physico-chemical properties and spectrum data of FT-0554 substance, FT-0554 substance is determined as the following chemical structure. 
As shown in the above, physico-chemical properties of FT-0554 substance are explained in detail, however no compound having identical properties have been reported. Consequently, FT-0554 substance is defined as novel substance.
NADH-fumarate reductase inhibitory activity of FT-0554 of the present invention is explained as follows.
Muscles of Ascaris suum were homogenized in 120 mM sodium phosphate solution (pH 7.0) and centrifuged at 3,000xc3x97g for 10 minutes to collect the supernatant solution. The supernatant was further centrifuged at 10,000xc3x97g for 20 minutes to collect the precipitate. The precipitate was suspended in 120 mM sodium phosphate solution (pH 7.0) to obtain mitochondrial fraction.
After 10 xcexcl of test sample dissolved in 50% dimethyl sulfoxide solution was added into 96 holes microplate, 120 mM sodium phosphate solution (pH 7.0) containing 0.35 mM NADH, 7.2 mM disodium fumarate and 18 mg/ml bovine serum albumin was added thereto, and pre-incubated in the microplate reader ELx808 (Bio-Tek Industries Co.) at 37xc2x0 C. for 5 minutes.
Mitochondrial fraction of Ascaris suum 10 xcexcl (protein content 0.3 mg) was added therein and incubated at 37xc2x0 C. for 10 minutes. Absorption of NADH at 340 nm was measured every 15 seconds. As a result of quantitative measurement of NADH-fumarate reductase activity shown by decrease in the slope of absorbancy at 340 nm, 50% inhibition of NADH-fumarate reductase activity were obtained at 2.8 xcexcM of FT-0554 substance. Consequently, FT-0554 substance can be expected to use as drug for treatment or prevention of helminthiasis.
Antimicrobial activity of FT-0554 substance of the present invention is as follows.
Chloroform solution of the compound of the present invention (1 mg/ml) 10 xcexcl is dipped on a filter paper disk (Advantec Co. diameter 6 mm), which is air-dried to remove the solvent. The air-dried to remove the solvent. The dried disks are put on the agar plates containing test organisms, incubated at 37xc2x0 C. or 27xc2x0 C. for 24 hours, and diameter of the inhibition zone around the paper disk is measured. Result are shown in Table 3.
As shown in Table 3, FT-0554 substance of the present invention has weak growth inhibitory activity against some microorganisms.